England enjoyed its sunniest January on record, with the UK basking in the brightest January in more than 20 years.
The Met Office said England had an average 80.7 hours of sunshine in January, the most since 1919.
The UK had an average of 62.7 hours of sunshine in the month, making it the sunniest January since 2001 and the third sunniest overall.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also had above-average sunshine hours in the month, but not enough to break any records.
Wales had an average of 55.1 hours of sunshine (17 per cent above average), Scotland 38.1 hours (8 per cent above average) and Northern Ireland 43.4 hours (2 per cent above average).
January started with the warmest New Year’s Day on record for the UK, with 16.3°C recorded at St James’s Park in London.
Scotland and Wales also broke their New Year’s Day record high temperatures, as 15.9°C was reported at Achnagart in Scotland and 15.6°C at Hawarden in Wales.
The mild weather continued for much of the month, but with some cool night-time temperatures in the south.
It was an especially mild January for Scotland, with a mean temperature of 4.7°C making it the country’s sixth warmest January on record and 1.8°C above the long-term average.
The UK in January also had less than half of the average rainfall for the month. An average of 61.3 millimetres of rain fell, which is below normal 121.5mm.
Scotland was the only country to report more than 50 per cent of its average rainfall, but its figure of 110.2mm was still only 62 per cent.
“January has been a dry and sunny month," said Dr Mark McCarthy of the National Climate Information Centre.
“It has been notably mild for Scotland but a fair share of frosty mornings across much of England.
“High pressure has had a big influence over the UK’s weather this month, with a persistent area of high pressure in the south dominating the picture from mid-month and resulting in a relatively dry month.
“The exception to this for the UK was the late influence of Storms Malik and Corrie in the last weekend of January, bringing rain and disruptive winds to many in the north.”
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
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The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
